>> Saturday, August 12, 2017

Indigenous
peoples (IPs) or indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) have all the right to
seek all information regarding proposals to set up hydroelectric plants within
their river resources.

With that
premise, Branch 63 of the Regional Trial Court in La Trinidad, Benguet
dismissed a case filed by energy developer Hedcor Kabayan Inc. accusing the Benguet
Electric Cooperative (Beneco) which serves Baguio and Benguet with
interfering with or influencing the on-going Free and Prior Informed Consent
(FPIC) the corporation is conducting for its Kabayan II hydropower project.

“The
IP’s/ICC’s access to all information affecting their interest should be
guaranteed by the diversity of the sources and means of information available,
thus enabling them to check the accuracy or facts and to appraise data, scheme
and proposals objectively consistent with a laissez faire approach to the
regulation of speech and expression,” the court noted.

Hedcor
Kabayan, part of the Hydroelectric Development Corp. now developing
hydroelectric dams in various parts of the Cordillera, earlier filed the case
for injunction and damages, for allegedly influencing the FPIC and “violating
the exclusive rights of Hedcor as renewable energy development of Kabayan II
hydro power generation project…”.

The issue
arose after Onjon ni Kasikuran Shi Kabayan (ONKASKA), composed of indigenous
peoples of Kabayan, passed Resolution No. 4-2014 allowing Beneco to conduct a
detailed engineering and design study for Agno I and Agno 2 within the
ancestral domain of Kabayan along the Agno River”.

The Kabayan
Sangguniang Bayan endorsed the Onjon resolution oln August 26, 2014.
Subsequently, the Kabayan LOiga ng mga Barangay also adopted a resolution
asking the Department of Energy to consider the application of BENECO for
hydropower development for the Nalatang River.

Firstly, the
court noted, “Hedcor did not establish a clear legal right to preliminary
injunction”. It said that the amendment to the hydropower service contract
between Hedcor and the Department of Energy was executed only on June 13,
2016.

“Also the
endorsement letter was sent to the NCIP on 22 June 2016 for Hedcor to secure
the necessary permits and clearances from all relevant government entities
including the certification precondition and the conduct of the FPIC (free and
informed prior concent) process,” the court said.

“Indubitably,”
the court said, “ the alleged acts were committed prior to the amendment of the
Hdropower Service Contract between Hedcor and the DOE on 13 June 2016.”

Therefore,
the court added, “as of 22 June 2016, Hedcor has yet to file its application
before the NCIP for Certification Precondition based on the amended contract.
It cannot rely on its earlier application filed on 31 July 2015 and the
proceedings therein had which were deemed mooted with the execution of the
amended contract.”